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Exercise 13: Procedure
Exercise 13: Procedure
Requirement: A sharp knife, blotting sheets or old newspapers, 2% formalin solution, tray,
forceps, thick white card sheets cut to 42 × 29cm size, gloves, field press, rope, gum/quick
fix/needle and thread.
Procedure
• Collect twigs of a few wild plants (herbs, shrubs or trees) 20-25cm
long with leaves and flowers. Record in a field diary its name, date
and place of collection.
• Dip the specimens for 2-3 minutes in 2% formalin solution taken in
a tray (wear gloves). Rinse the plant gently to remove excess formalin
and blot to remove the fomalin traces.
• Keep the plant twig between folds of another blotting paper/
newspaper.
• Spread the plant on the sheet in a manner that at least ventral surfaces
of 1-2 leaves are facing upwards and no overlapping of foliage or
flowers occur. Likewise spread the attached flower(s) in a manner
that all the floral parts of at least one flower are widely spread. If the
plant is too long, fold it at one or two places so as to accommodate it
on a single sheet.
• Repeat the process for the other plants you have collected. Keep the
specimens in separate sheets.
• Place the sheets with plant specimens in a field press and secure it
tightly with a rope. If a field press is not available, place the sheets
under a heavy weight or box.
• Next day carefully transfer the plants to dry blotting sheets/old news
papers and tie them up in the field press.
• Repeat this process of transferring the specimens to fresh sheets for
a few days till specimens are dry.
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Exercise 13
29 cm
Scientific Name
Common Name
42 cm Family
Date of collection
Scientific Name
Common Name Place of collection
Family
Date of collection Name of collector
Place of collection
Name of Collector
Name of plant Common name Family Time and place Economic uses Any threats
Note: There are many international, national, regional and local herbaria. The Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, London, is one of the most prestigious international herbarium, where several
thousand of herbarium sheets are preserved. In our country, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI)
has regional herbaria located at Coimbatore, Pune, Dehradun, Kolkata and Lucknow. Many
universities and colleges have small herbaria. It is worthwhile to visit a herbarium with your teacher.
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23-04-2018